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(Nb Model.)

No. 443,606. Patented. Dec. 30, 1890f &

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NVENTDR! UNITED STATES PATENT Fries.

EDVARD H. JOHNSON, OF NElV YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO BERGMANN & COMPANY,OF SAME PLACE.

SWITCH.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 443,606, dated December30, 1890.

Application filed January 21, 1885. Serial No. 153,487. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, EDWARD H. JOHNSON, of New Yorlnin the county andState of New York, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement inSwitches for Electric Circuits, of which the following isaspecification.

The object of this invention is to control the separate circuits ofseveraltwo or more electric lamps or groups of electric lamps by asingle switch, so that the movement of such switch will throw such lampsor groups of lamps successively into circuit or successively out ofcircuit, whereby one or all or any intermediate number of such lamps orgroups of lamps may be placed in circuit, and thus lighted, or cut outof circuit and thereby extinguished.

in carrying my invention into effect I em-.

ploy a moving body provided with a contact permanently in connectionwith a conductor of the main or supplying circuit and with two or moreother contacts adapted to be brought by the movementof said bodysuccessively into connection with terminals of the two or more branchcircuits with which the two or more lamps or groups of lamps which it isdesired to effect by the movements of the switch are connected. Theother terminal of each of said branch circuits is permanently connectedwith the other conductor of the main or supplying circuit. The movingbody is preferably a revolving cylinder of. insulating material havingupon its surface a continuous metal ring, on which bears a spring, whichis a terminal of a conductor of the main or supplying circuit, andhaving also two or more non-continuous metal contacts or portions ofrings, upon the plane of each of which bears a spring which forms aterminal of a branch circuit. All said non-continuous rings areconnected permanently with the main continuous ring. Said non-continuousrings are so arranged relatively to each other or one another that theirends or the points at which the springs leave them are in differentvertical planes while the springs are in the same vertical planes, sothat the circuits are closed successively or broken successively. I mayemploy upon the same cylinder two or more sets of branch terminals,

whereby during a single revolution of the cyl inder the circuits areclosed and broken two or more times, and thus the whole operation of theswitch is performed by only a part of the revolution of the cylinder.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in whichFigure l is a view in elevation of a switch embodying my inventionhaving two sets of branch-circuit terminals; Fig. 2, a similar view ofthe switch with only one set of bran chcircuit terminals. Fig. 3 is aview of the cyl inder of Fig. 1 developed into a flat surface and adiagram of the circuits, and Fig. 4 is a similarview of the switch ofFig. 2.

A is a cylinder of suitableinsulating material, having a central spindlea, which turns in bearings in asupporting-frame l3, and is provided witha wheel C or any other suit.- able key or handle for turning it.

I will first describe the simple switch shown in Figs. 2 and 4.

Upon' the su rtace of the cylinder A is a continuous metal ring or bandE. I

F, F, and F are metal contact-bands, each of which extends abouthalf-way around the cylinder, and G, G, and G are correspondingdead-plates not connected with the circuits, whose object to providesubstantially continuous surfaces in the paths of the contact-springs.

Secured in any suitable manner to the frame B is a spring 11, whichbearsconstantly on the continuous band or ring E,and springs I, I, and 1which bear upon the contacts F F is revolved.

1 2 are main conductors or terminals of the source of electricity. Mainconductor 1 is connected by wire 3 with spring H, and main conductor 2is connected by wires 4:, 5, and (5, through lamps 1 .91; 00 with thecontact springs I I 1 7 By means of wires 0, c, and c the continuousring E is connected with all the non-continuous contacts F, F, and Thesewires are preferably soldered or otherwise secured to the under sides ofthe contacts. The metal rings and connecting-wires upon the cylinderthus form a moving conducting-body perma- F or the dead-plates G G" G asthe cylinder ncntly in connection with the main cond uctorterminal andadapted to be brought into connection with one or all or anyintermediate number of the branch conductor-terminals.

The operation of the switch is as follows: hen the switch-contacts areas shown in the figures, all the lamps are in circuit; but on turningthe switch in the direct-ion indicated by the arrow the spring I firstleaves the contact F and passes upon the dead-plate G, breaking thecircuit of lamp .1 Next the spring I leaves contact I!" and breaks thecircuit of 1 and finally spring I leaves Wand extinguishcs lamp at. Acontinuation of the revolution brings I upon 1 then 1 upon F, and then Iupon E the lamps being thus brought successively into circuit again. Itis evident that each contact of the switch may control instead of asingle lamp a group of lamps, as shown in Fig. 3.

In the switch shown in Figs. 1 and 3 there are two contactsfff f or f fand two dead plates 9 g g g or g g in the path of each branch-circuitspring. The contacts for each spring are connected together by awire d.V hen a plates in its path, circuit is closed to the group oflamps :2:controlled by that spring, and when it is on either of the dead-platesthe circuit of such lamps is broken. Thus a half-revolution of theswitch successively lights all the lamps and then successivelyextinguishes them, after which acontinuation of the movement in the samedirection performs the same operations again. It is evident that thesprings may be madeto revolve upon thecylinder,insteadotthecylinderunderthesprings, and also that the ends ofthe springs may be arranged in different vertical planes instead of theends of the ring-contacts.

Either of the above-described forms of switches may be employed in anysituation and for any purpose where it is desired to control a number ofcircuits and to close and break said circuits successively.

The switch may be used to control the separate lights of an electrolier,and for this purpose may be placed upon the fixture or in any convenientplace to which the lamp-circuits may be orought, or it may be employedto control groups of lights, as the lights of difwith the continuouscontact,

spring is on either of the contact-' l'ercnt rooms or lights indlll'eront parts of a room or building.

What I claim is- 1. The combination, with a movable body of insulatingmaterial, of a contact-piece carried thereby permanently in connectionwith the conductor of the main circuit, and two or more overlappingcontact-pieces carried by and terminating at different points on the surface of the movable body, and consisting of non-continuous stripsextending around the movable body, the breaks in the strips beingarranged diagonally on the surface, and 00- operating contacts for saidoverlapping contact-pieces connected with the other conductor of themain circuit, whereby one or more of the overlapping pieces may beconnected substantially as forth.

2. In an electrical switch, the combination of a spring from which amain-circuit wire extends,aconducting-bod y with which thespring iscontinuously in contact, a series of springs from which wires of branchcircuits extend, and a moving conducting-body consisting of connectednon-contin uous strips on whichsaid springs bear, said movingconducting-body passing under all the branch-circuit springs for aportion of its length, the end terminating in a line diagonal to the endof the contact-springs, whereby one or more of the branches may beswitched into circuit, substantially as described.

3. In an electrical switch, the combination of a revolving cylinder,acontinuous ring, and two or more non-continuous rings on said cylinder,the conducting-sections of said rings overlapping for a part of theirlength, a spring forming a main-circuit terminal hearing on saidcontinuous ring, and springs forming branch-circuit terminals bearing onsaid non-continuous rings, said continuous rings and said non-continuousrings being connected together, substantially as set forth.

This specification signed and witnessed this 14th day of January, 1885.

EDWARD I-I. JOHNSON. Witnesses:

T. G. GREENE, J r., EDW. 0. ROWLAND.

